This was completed in a group, as part of my coursework for one of my classes at Auburn.

1. Tiger Woods Scandal Report
Summary:
In the report, we will start with outlining the Tiger Woods scandal. The scandal began on
November 27, 2009, and most of the original excitement ended with his return to golf in April
and then with his divorce from wife, Elin, in August of 2010 (Levy 2013). There are some public
relations events that occurred after this time, but most of the focus will be on the events that
transpired immediately following the accident.
Focus will be placed on the December 2, 2009, statement released on Woods’ website
that stated, “​Personal sins should not require press releases and problems within a family
shouldn't have to mean public confessions” (Mirror.co.uk 2009). This statement included Tiger
Woods’ first admittance of extramarital affairs. We will also focus heavily on his first press
conference, which took place on February 18, 2010 and was essentially a disaster. This was the
first time Tiger Woods addressed the media “face-to-face.” A lot of focus will be on what we
find to be problems with the crisis communications strategy that Tiger Woods and his team
chose to use and what we would have done differently if we were in charge of his situation.
We believe they made a big mistake in regards to his silence with the media, and the most
successful move occurred nearly a year after the initial scandal on November 17, 2010. It was
this day that Tiger Woods took to twitter – he made a twitter account and conducted a Q&A
session two weeks later followed by several more. Bleacher Report said it best when they stated
that Tiger was “winning back his fanbase 140 characters at a time” (Levy 2013).

2. The thing that is interesting about this case is that Tiger Woods was arguably the most
popular athlete of this time – people that did not even follow golf followed Woods’ journey of
success. Despite the severity of the scandal, and how it seemingly was shot after shot for nearly a
month straight, we believe that his original high level of popularity could have been preserved
much better than it was. This will be the main focus of our report as we outline how each shot
went unanswered and continued to wound Tiger Woods’ reputation.

3. Bibliography
Levy, D. (2017, January 14). A Timeline of Tiger Woods' Road Back to No. 1 in the World.
Retrieved April 10, 2017, from
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1581503-a-timeline-of-tiger-woods-road-back-to-no-1-in-the-
world
This article is a timeline of major events that lead to the fall from grace of Tiger Woods’s, then
the top golfer in the world, and the events that began to allow him back to into the good graces of
people around the United States and the world.
This resource will be used to keep the major events in the proper order as well as understand
events that transpired up to two years after the original incident took place in November, 2009.
Sheinin, Dave. (2010, February 20). Tiger Woods Apologizes, Admits he Cheated and says he is
Undergoing Therapy. Washington Post. Retrieved April 11, 2017, from
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/02/19/AR2010021902442.html
This author, Sheinin, focuses on Tiger Woods’ first public statement on his scandal, where he
apologizes for the actions he made. Sheinin lists some key quotes from Woods’ statement that
we can further use in our report.

4. Callahan, Maureen. (2013, November 24). The Night Tiger Woods was Exposed as a Serial
Cheater. New York Post. Retrieved April 11, 2017, from
http://nypost.com/2013/11/24/the-night-tiger-woods-was-exposed-as-a-serial-cheater/
In this article by Maureen, we will focus on how Woods was on top of the world prior to the
events leading up to the scandal and how much he lost because of this. This article focuses on
how much he was worth but at the same, focuses on the details of the scandal and elaborates on
Woods’ wife's reaction to this.
Tiger Woods timeline: How the golfer's world went into meltdown. (2012, January 28).
Retrieved April 10, 2017, from
http://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/celebrity-news/tiger-woods-timeline-how-the-golfers-43686
In this article, we focus on the timeline of events and get an in depth summary into each
individual incident. Because the article focuses on each account of Tiger Woods throughout the
process, we will lay out our arguments on a basis of preciseness.
EHRMANN, M. (2010, November 23). One year after scandal, Woods tries to move on.
Retrieved April 10, 2017, from
http://www.golf.com/ap-news/one-year-after-scandal-woods-tries-move

5. In this article, we focus on the aftermath of the situation and how Tiger Woods responded to the
situation a year later. Often times, this kind of situation will affect a person and the way that their
career goes. Their response is crucial to their future life, sponsorships, and activities.
Outline of Report:
● Written report should be 7-10 pages (double-spaced).
● Assess the dilemma presented
● Examine the problems it poses
● Discuss how it was handled
● Suggest how it could be handled differently
● Suggest what sorts of steps the company involved could do to ensure this dilemma is not
a problem in the future
1. (Tristan) Introduction – briefly introduce the case, why it was selected, and which area of
public relations the case relates to (ex. Employee relations? Community Relations? Crisis
Management?)
2. (Courtney) Formative Research Phase: This section of the paper should cover the following
items:
- Analyze the issue
- Analyze the organization
- Analyze the main publics involved and affected
3. (Katie) Strategy Phase: Strategy involves the "big picture"
- the overall plan, and how those plans will achieve your goals and objectives.
- Your strategy is the framework, your compass that you will use to make decisions that will
benefit the future outcome of your business.
- Strategy is the set of directions you make to enhance your situation and position within your
overall market. This section of the paper should cover the following:
- Objectives of the organization
- The action/response strategy of the organization
- The communication strategy of the organization

6. - A discussion on the strategy of the organization
– do you agree with their strategy? Why or why not? What would you do differently?
4. (Tristan) Tactics Phase: Tactics are the day-to-day activities that are repeatable in your
business and relatively clear-cut. Like blocking and tackling in football, they comprise the basic
components of the jobs and the daily activities of any organization - or any business - no matter
the size. Tactics are specifically created and selected to reach particular and measurable
objectives. Tactics are the actual ways in which the strategies are executed. This section of the
paper should include the following:
- What were the tactics employed by the organization?
- How were the tactics received by the public – successful? Not successful?
- A discussion about the tactics – do you agree with them? Why or why not? What tactics
would you not have used? Which ones would you have used instead?
5. (Katie) Evaluation/Continuation Phase: Once the situation was over, what were the next steps
the
company took? This section should contain the following:
- Once the situation was over, what did the company do?
- Analyze the next steps taken by the company
- Is this company still in the evaluation/continuation phase? If so, what are the steps they
are currently taking?
6. (Courtney) Case Analysis/Conclusion – In this section, you’ll need to look at the big picture.
Summarize the case. How could this situation have been handled differently? Suggest what sorts
of steps the company involved could do to ensure this dilemma is not a problem in the future.
Tiger Woods Research:
Timeline
November 27, 2009: Reports state that Tiger Woods was injured in a minor car accident right
outside his home. Rumor sites speculate that there may be a connection between these reports
and reports of an alleged affair with Rachel Uchitel

7. November 29, 2009 - Woods hires a lawyer and releases this personal statement on his website,
"I'm human and I'm not perfect. I will certainly make sure this doesn't happen again. This is a
private matter and I want to keep it that way. Although I understand there is curiosity, the many
false, unfounded and malicious rumors that are currently circulating about my family and me are
irresponsible​.” “It actually sounded as if he was apologizing for being a bad driver” (Phillips,
2010).
November 30, 2009 - Woods will miss his own tournament, the Chevron World Challenge
December 1, 2009 - Woods is cited with careless driving and a $164 fine - no criminal charges
for the accident
December 2, 2009 - Jaimee Grubbs claims she had a two and a half year affair with the golfer.
Woods releases another statement on his website: "I have let my family down and I regret those
transgressions with all of my heart. I have not been true to my values and the behaviour my
family deserves. I am dealing with my behaviour and personal failings behind closed doors with
my family.” He goes on to criticise media intrusion, adding: "Personal sins should not require
press releases and problems within a family shouldn't have to mean public confessions.”
This same day the extremely incriminating voicemail is also leaked to the press. “Hey, it's Tiger.
I need you to do me a huge favor. Can you please take your name off your phone? My wife went
through my phone and may be calling you. So if you can, please take your name off that. Just
have it as a number on the voicemail. You got to do this for me. Huge. Quickly. Bye."
December 4 - 11, 2009 - 10 other women are linked to Tiger Woods
December 9, 2009 - Nielsen, a New York-based consumer research company, produced a study
showing Woods has not appeared in a prime time television commercial in the United States
since a November 29 Gillette advert. A US politician retracts his bid to get the sportsman
recognised with the USA's highest civilian honour.
December 11, 2009 - Jamie Jungers states her affair with Woods left her heartbroken. Woods
releases statement stating his break from golf
(​http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/12/11/tiger.woods.statement/​)
December 12, 2009 - One of the golfer's major sponsors, shaving giant Gillette distances itself
from Woods saying it is "limiting his role" in marketing to "support his desire for privacy.” His
main sponsor, Nike, stands by him, saying: "He is the best golfer in the world and one of the

8. greatest athletes of his era. We look forward to his return to golf. He and his family have Nike's
full support.”
December 14, 2009 - Global management consultancy Accenture says it will not continue its
sponsorship agreement with the golfer because "he is no longer the right representative" for its
advertising.
December 31, 2009 - ATT drops Tiger
January 19, 2010 - Rumors that Tiger Woods is in a sex rehab facility
February 19, 2010 - The first time Woods addresses the public in his presser. A 14-minute
speech where he took no questions - people are generally torn between this being genuine or cold
(​http://sports.yahoo.com/golf/blog/devil_ball_golf/post/Tiger-Woods-finally-speaks-I-am-deeply
-sorry-?urn=golf,220808​)
February 26, 2010 - Gatorade drops Tiger Woods as a spokesperson, says they will continue to
support the Tiger Woods Foundation
March 16, 2010 - statement to the press "The Masters is where I won my first major and I view
this tournament with great respect. After a long and necessary time away from the game, I feel
like I'm ready to start my season at Augusta."
April 5, 2010 - His first press conference, Woods did well with tough questions
(​http://sports.yahoo.com/golf/blog/devil_ball_golf/post/Tiger-Woods-turns-in-impressive-perfor
mance-in-p?urn=golf,232143​)
April 8, 2010 - July 29, 2010 - Woods finds little success on the course, eventually gets injured
August 12, 2010 - Scandal took a big hit to Woods popularity
August 23, 2010 - Woods divorce is announced as final by attorneys
November 17, 2010 - Tiger takes Twitter! Tiger conducts his first Q&A sessions on Twitter
July 21, 2011 - Firing of his caddy, Steve Williams. In an attempt to move on he fired Williams -
Williams took to TV and more to state how he was unhappy with how it was handle. Williams
looked extremely petty as it was clear Woods was simply trying to move on

9. March 25, 2012 - Woods finally wins (Arnold Palmer Invitational)
April 12, 2017 - Golfdigest speculates that no one really cares about Tiger Woods anymore -
indifference
(​http://www.golfdigest.com/story/has-tiger-woods-fatigue-set-in-public-indifference-seems-to-be
-growing​)
Sponsorships
As of January 2017, Woods is sponsored by:
● Nike Golf​, which signed Woods in 1996 and built its golf division around Woods. Nike
stopped making golf clubs in 2016, but still outfits Woods in apparel and shoes.
● TaylorMade Golf, who Woods signed with in January 2017 to play its woods, irons and
wedges.
● Bridgestone Golf, which has Woods signed to a golf ball deal.
● Rolex, the watch makers.
● Kowa, a diversified Japanese company whose pharmaceutical products include a pain
medicine for which Woods does ads that air in Japan.
● Upper Deck, the sports cards and collectibles company.
● Hero Motor Group, the India-based motorcycle maker.
● Monster energy drink
Sponsors he once had, but lost:
● AT&T
● Accenture
● Gatorade
● Buick (General Motors)
● Titleist
● American Express
● Gillette (Proctor & Gamble)
● General Mills
● TLC Laser Eye Centers
● Tag Heuer
Public Relations Tactics

10. ● Silence?
● Two days after the car accident Woods releases the obscure statement not really
addressing any of the public's questions
● Woods does not talk at all regarding the incidents - the press story is literally the silence,
he gives the public nothing and so speculation runs wild
● Another statement released on Wood’s site that admits his personal digressions
(​https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2009/dec/03/tiger-woods-statement-in-full​)
● Announces break from golf in another statement
(​http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/12/11/tiger.woods.statement/​)
● The presser - Tiger Woods 14 minute speech, didn’t accept questions
● Announces return to golf with the Master’s
● Finally a press conference - answers people’s questions for the FIRST time (this is the
first tactic that can be considered a PR success)
● TWITTER! Tiger on twitter - holds Q&A sessions for fans, an obvious attempt to win
fans back, but a really good move! This occurs an entire YEAR after the beginning of the
incident
● Fires caddy Steve Williams because he said it was a time for a change and time to move
on
(​http://www.espn.com/golf/story/_/id/6787301/tiger-woods-gets-rid-steve-williams-caddi
e​)
● Writes a new book about 1997 Masters, published March 2017
(​http://www.golf.com/tour-and-news/tiger-woods-announces-new-book-about-his-1997-
masters-win​)
● Rebrands business ventures - from TR to TGR (2016)
What Should They Have Done?
● Talked EARLY AND OFTEN
● If Woods had come on camera immediately and said - I am sorry, I will answer any
questions - may have still lost sponsorships but wouldn’t have been painted so much as a
villain
● People LOVED TIGER WOODS, he was arguably the most popular athlete at the time of
his incident - if people had HEARD from him they would have listened and things would
have gone a lot differently
● Twitter Q&A should have occurred in January or February, not an entire year later
● There was no transparency in this case - I believe it would have been his key to success

11. Report
Introduction:
Born Eldrick “Tiger” Woods on Dec. 30, 1975, Tiger Woods is an international icon in
the world of sports and entertainment. It has been said that the world of golf changed forever
when he went professional and won the Masters by 18 under par in 1997 - still the record to this
day (Munday, 1997). ​“The record is clear: Tiger Woods is the greatest force in the modern
history of the sport,” Mark Kreidler (2007) said about him on ESPN.com.​This case is an
important situation to analyze and learn what to do and what not to do. This is a case based on
crisis management, community relations and employee relations. We selected this case in order
to break down a timeline of events that ultimately had an impact on Tiger Woods and those
around him.
On November 27, 2009, Woods’ life changed completely and caused a large-scale
scandal that impacted many sponsors, personal relationships and ultimately his career as a
professional golfer. On that night, Woods personal life exploded when he was in a car accident
near his home that could have been caused because of a potential affair with a woman named
Rachel Uchitel. His wife, Elin Nordegren, had smashed the back windows of his vehicle with a
golf club claiming she was attempting to get her unconscious husband out of his car. Following
this initial incident, many different women discussed their past and present extramarital affairs
with Woods. These women exposing the golfer turned into a crisis management disaster for
Woods, his team, his wife and his children. Woods also was spotted going to a sex rehabilitation
facility after the alleged events, which caused a ruckus with the media.
Following these initial statements from various women, Woods is put in front of the
public for the first time where he gave a speech about the incidents that occurred. This press
conference was one of the worst things that could happen for Woods and his case.
Communication issues between the public and Woods were a consistent theme during this case –
mainly the fact that Woods waited nearly six months to answer the important questions that the
public needed the answers to.
Woods suffered drastically from these scandals and was dropped by many of his major
sponsors including but not limited to AT&T, Gatorade, American Express, and Gillete. Not only
was he dropped by sponsorships, he was also dropped by his wife when she requested a divorce.
Currently, in 2017, Woods is in a good place professionally, gaining many different sponsors and
playing the game that he loves once more.

12. Research:
On Nov. 25, 2009, the National Enquirer posted an article speculating that Tiger Woods
had engaged in an extramarital affair with Rachel Uchitel (Busbee, 2009). Tiger Woods was
injured in a car accident right outside of his home on Nov. 27, 2009 (Callahan, 2013). The back
windows of his vehicle had been smashed with a golf club by his wife, Elin Nordegren who had
allegedly been trying to help Woods out of the car.
The timing of this accident caused rumors to rage regarding his accident. Two days after
the accident, Woods hired a lawyer and released a personal statement on his website, “This is a
private matter and I want to keep it that way. Although I understand there is curiosity, the many
false, unfounded and malicious rumors that are currently circulating about my family and me are
irresponsible” (Tiger Woods Timeline, 2010). The next day, Woods missed out on his own
tournament, the Chevron World Challenge (Callahan, 2013).
On Dec. 2, 2009, Jaimee Grubbs claims she had a two-and-a-half year affair with the
golfer (Bacon & Busbee, 2010). Woods then released another statement on his website, “I have
let me family down and I regret those transgressions with all of my heart. I have not been true to
my values and the behavior my family deserves. I am dealing with my behavior and personal
failings behind closed doors with my family” (Woods, 2009). This was the first admittance to the
public, but another part of his statement sums up his public relations strategy for the duration of
the crisis - silence. “Personal sins should not require press releases and problems within a family
shouldn’t have to mean public confessions” (Woods, 2009).
The same day, a voicemail on Grubbs’ phone was leaked to the press of Woods saying,
“Hey, it’s Tiger. I need you to do me a huge favor. Can you please take your name off your
phone? My wife went through my phone and may be calling you. So if you can, please take your
name off that. Just have it as a number on the voicemail. You got to do this for me. Huge.
Quickly. Bye.” This voicemail allowed rumors to continue to rage. Woods did not speak on this
issue.
By Dec. 4, 2009, 10 more women were linked to Woods (Tiger Woods Timeline, 2010).
Seven days later on Dec. 11, Jamie Jungers talks to the media claiming her affair with Woods
left her heartbroken. Woods later released a statement stating his break from golf, but still did not
speak to the public on these recent affairs becoming public. In this statement he again asked for
privacy for his family.

13. On Dec. 12, one of Woods’ main sponsors, shaving giant Gillette distances itself from
Woods saying it is “limiting his role” in marketing to “support his desire for privacy” (Tiger
Woods Timeline, 2010). Two days later, global management consultancy Accenture says it will
not continue its sponsorship agreement with the golfer because “he is no longer the right
representative” for its advertising (Tiger Woods Timeline, 2010). AT&T also dropped Tiger
Woods later that month on Dec. 31, his 34th birthday.
Rumors started that Woods was spotted at a sex rehab facility on Jan., 19, 2010. Woods
waited until exactly a month after these rumors began, on Feb. 19, to address the public for the
first time, almost three months after the accident. Woods speech lasted 14 minutes and he didn’t
take questions. Shortly after his speech, on Feb. 26, Gatorade dropped Tiger Woods as a
spokesperson.
April 5, 2010, Woods held his second press conference before the start of the 2010
Masters. Woods had announced the Masters was going to be where he made his long awaited
return to golf. “​The Masters is where I won my first major and I view this tournament with great
respect. After a long and necessary time away from the game, I feel like I'm ready to start my
season at Augusta” (Hartung & Fukuzaki, 2010).​Following the Masters, Woods’ attorneys
announced Tiger Woods’ divorce from his wife Elin was final on Aug. 23, 2010.
Strategy:
When dealing with crisis management, it is important to have a plan and a final objective.
What do you want to come out of this crisis looking like? What can you do to best maintain your
image? How can you best win back the public trust? When you analyze the strategy of Tiger
Woods’ camp, especially immediately following the car accident, it is tough to figure out what
they were looking to accomplish with their public relations strategy, which can be best described
as silence. It helps to analyze the strategy of Tiger Woods prior to entering crisis mode.
What was Tiger’s image prior to that car accident on Nov. 27, 2009? Matthew Phillips of
Newsweek said it best, “For as long as he’s been famous, Tiger has guarded his privacy,
choosing to show us only what he wants us to see, which has basically been a one-dimensional,
golf-obsessed corporate sloganeer. As a result, his public image was pure gold, and he was the
most bankable athlete ever.” (Phillips, 2010) It is clear that this focus on privacy was what
Woods wanted to continue on with when a crisis struck.
As Phillips said before, we only saw what he wanted us to see. What Woods didn’t seem
to realize was that if he showed the public nothing, they would have no problem filling in the
gaps on their own. For two days following the car accident Woods was completely silent. Then
he finally released a statement on his website on Nov. 29, 2009. It was vague and not addressing

14. anything specific - it simply stressed how much he like his privacy. Phillips said, “It actually
sounded as if he was apologizing for being a bad driver.”
These obscure public statements matched with radio silence towards the media seemed to
be the route that Woods had decided to take. On Dec. 2, 2009, things really took a turn with the
first of many woman claiming an affair with Tiger Woods in the media. It was on this day that
his camp released another personal statement. This statement would mark the second of only
four times that Tiger Woods addressed this incident to the public. In this statement he criticized
the media for their intrusion into his family life. “Personal sins should not require press releases
and problems within a family shouldn’t have to mean public confessions.” (Woods, 2009)
On Dec. 11, 2009, Jamie Jungers, another mistress, steps forward and reveals personal
details about her affair with Tiger Woods. It is this day that Woods releases his third statement
announcing his break from golf. “​After much soul searching, I have decided to take an indefinite
break from professional golf. I need to focus my attention on being a better husband, father and
person” (Woods’ statement, 2009).
Finally, on Feb. 19, 2010, nearly three months after the car accident, Woods speaks to the
press in a 14-minute speech. He took no questions at this event. The opinion on this presser vary.
Some people say this was humanizing and helped Tiger’s case while others believe he was quite
like a robot and didn’t show hardly any emotion while issuing his apology. Either way, I believe
the most important aspect of this is his refusal to take questions. Woods is still hiding.
When dealing with an extremely popular public figure it is important to be transparent. If
a crisis is ahead it is important to talk early and often - if you do not fill in the gaps for the public
then the public will fill in the gaps for you. Woods seemed to not take this into account as he
spoke very little throughout the crisis. I disagree with this strategy, because ultimately it does
little more than create problems.
In a situation like this I would place a focus on honesty and transparency. Woods should
have spoken to the media early and often - obviously he made a mistake and owning this mistake
to your public is absolutely essential. I understand his desire for privacy, but I don’t believe he
understood the repercussions of this wish. In this position I would have stressed to Tiger Woods
the importance of being honest with the public right away. Woods’ public image suffered and as
a result he lost countless sponsorships and more. With an open and honest strategy I believe
some of his loss could have been prevented.
Tactics:
The public relations tactics in this case are a helpful note of what not to do. Woods failed
to provide a simple line of communication with the public throughout the scandal. This was

15. apparent because Woods’ first appearance and discussion of the incidents was a press conference
nearly three months after the alleged rumors of his affairs.
Although Woods came forward and made a speech, there were no questions allowed at
the actual event, causing confusion among the public. Also, the public and media could not get
the answers that they truly wanted and deserved. In this position, a proper public relations
professional would advise Woods to speak out as soon as possible to avoid any further confusion
and halt any other rumors. The ability to be transparent with the public and family members is
important and Woods did not fully understand this at the time.
A few months later, Woods decided to hold another press conference and allow media to
answer questions. This was a responsible move by Woods’ and his team to begin building an
image of transparency. At this press conference, Woods announced that he would be making his
return to the game that he loves to play, golf.
After many failed attempts at a transparent case, Woods opened a twitter session where
he answered the questions of many fans. This was far too late and should have been done days
after the initial information was released. Currently, Woods is active on Twitter with over six
million followers.
Evaluation:
As far as immediate crisis management, their tactics came to a close with the February 19
press conference. At this point three official steps had been made to help recover Tiger Woods’
reputation - two official statements released on his website and the press conference. Besides this
the public experience total silence from Tiger Woods.
In March, Woods announced his return to golf that would occur in Augusta, Georgia, at
the Masters. His return to golf is met with high anticipation and with it comes the first public
relations move from Woods that is deemed a definite success. His press conference on April 5,
2010 prior to the start of the Masters.
Woods faced more than 200 members of the media. There was a short opening statement
followed by 34 minutes of questions (Busbee, 2010). He answered questions about the car
accident, rehab, living a secret life and much more. Woods demeanor throughout has been cited
as “relaxed, confident, at ease” (Busbee, 2010). This press conference was reminiscent of the
seemingly trustworthy Tiger the golf world knew. Though Tiger didn’t find success at the
Masters this press conference helped rebuild his image.
In addition, on Nov. 17, 2010, Woods made a Twitter account. Within two weeks he held
multiple Q&A sessions on his account and it was a clear attempt to reach out to his fan base and
gain back their trust. This is an amazing public relations move and shows that you want to

16. communicate with your public. It allows your public to trust that you want them to have as much
information as possible.
After the Masters, Woods suffered injuries and never really got back into his game. On
March 25, 2012, Tiger Woods won his first tournament since the accident at the Arnold Palmer
Invitational. He didn’t participate in this years Masters, but was in attendance to the Masters
dinner in order to promote his new book about the 1997 Masters. The 1997 Masters was where
Woods made history winning by 18 under par.
In Oct. 2016, Tiger Woods made another promising step in the right direction. He
revealed a rebrand of his business ventures. This is called TGR, Tiger Woods Ventures. He
adopted a new logo and released a statement explaining this new business move. ​"I've spent
nearly two years developing TGR with my team. And this is what we are about: the pursuit of
excellence beyond all limits. I approach everything I do with a mindset to be the absolute best,”
says Woods (2016) when discussing his new business. He also explained that this was the start of
his “chapter 2” as he began his return to the sport of golf (Madden, 2016).
Conclusion:
Before the accident in 2009, “​Woods was considered the greatest golfer of all time and a
uniquely American success story​…” (Callahan 2013). As Callahan (2013) puts it, “​The life and
career of the world’s greatest golfer fell apart with the swing of a club — and it wasn’t even his
swing.” ​The scandal in the end hurt not only Woods career, but also more importantly, his
reputation. Woods decided to remain silent throughout the whole process which did nothing but
hurt him in the end. Sometimes silence is the answer, but in Woods’ case, it was just the
opposite.
Woods waited nearly three months to speak on the issue and only spoke on it a total of
four times, not accepting questions in the first speech. This made the media and supporters
question his motives and if he was hiding something. Woods had very little immediate reaction,
which made the media dig even deeper into his personal life and uncover more about his
mistresses.
Woods should have acted immediately once the public started revealing the scandal. In
the end, he should have provided a line of communication with the public much sooner than he
did. He should have also been more open and honest about the scandal from the beginning when
the accident took place. If he would have been more transparent throughout the process, I think
fans and sponsors would have respected him more for being an “open book”.